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Sellout crowd for MLB's 1st wild-card playoff game

ATLANTA (AP) — A sellout crowd of 52,631 packed Turner Field to watch the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball's first wild-card playoff game.

Former United States President Jimmy Carter watches the first inning of the National League wild card playoff baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

It was the Braves' biggest crowd of the season.

Fans included former Braves owner Ted Turner, who set across an aisle from former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. Former Braves manager Bobby Cox also attended the game.

Tributes to retiring third baseman Chipper Jones gave the Braves three sellouts to close their regular season, pushing attendance to 2,420,171, a slight increase from their 2011 total.

The potential for a sellout was jeopardized by the 5:07 p.m. start. Atlanta's Friday rush-hour traffic makes it difficult for fans to reach Turner Field for the first inning of night games. The late-afternoon start posed new difficulties.

Texas hosted Baltimore later Friday in the first AL wild-card playoff game.